1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that uses a processing fluid to process a substrate. The substrate to be processed includes, for example, a semiconductor wafer, a substrate for a liquid crystal display, a substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, a substrate for a photomask, a ceramic substrate, and a substrate for a solar cell.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device and a liquid crystal display device, it is a matter of necessity to perform cleaning processing for removing foreign substances such as particles from the front surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal display panel glass substrate.
For example, a single substrate processing type substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates one by one includes a spin chuck that rotates the substrate while holding, with a plurality of chuck pins, the substrate substantially horizontally and a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the front surface of the substrate rotated by the spin chuck (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-78368).
In the processing of the substrate, the substrate is rotated by the spin chuck. A cleaning chemical liquid is supplied from the nozzle to the front surface of the substrate being rotated. The cleaning chemical liquid supplied on the front surface of the substrate receives a centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the substrate and flows on the front surface of the substrate toward the circumferential edge. In this way, the cleaning chemical liquid is spread over the entire region of the front surface of the surface, and cleaning processing is performed on the front surface of the substrate. After the supply of the cleaning chemical liquid, rinse processing for cleaning, with a rinse liquid, the cleaning chemical liquid adhered to the substrate is performed. Specifically, the rinse liquid is supplied from the nozzle to the front surface of the substrate rotated by the spin chuck, the rinse liquid thereof receives the centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the substrate so as to be extended and the cleaning chemical liquid adhered to the front surface of the substrate is washed out.